Vermont Legalizes Same-sex Marriage

Vermont became the first state to legalize same-sex “marriage” by legislative action, when on April 7 the state legislature overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of the day before. A two-thirds majority vote was required to override the veto, and the override succeeded by a vote of 23-5 in the state Senate and 100-49 in the House.

The lopsided votes on behalf of a life-style that was almost universally regarded as a perversion just a couple of generations ago shows how successful the homosexual lobby has been in transforming the cultural face of America, at least in liberal New England. It was classified as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, for instance, until December 1973.

Vermont already had a civil-union law, and Douglas’ opposition to same-sex marriage was predicated on a defense of this law as opposed to condemnation of homosexual unions as immoral. “I believe our civil-union law serves Vermont well,” he said. Ironically, Vermont’s civil-union law, which Douglas supported, served as a steppingstone to Vermont’s same-sex "marriage" law, which he opposed.

In addition to Vermont, same-sex "marriage" has been legalized in three other states by judicial decisions: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa. The latter action, by the Iowa Supreme Court, occurred on April 3, just four days before the Vermont legislature overrode the governor’s veto. The California Supreme Court had also legalized same-sex marriage, but the court decision was negated when California voters amended the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage through a ballot proposition.